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2017 SOTF-TV Seasons
Season Forty-Eight Dates: ''' Winter 2017 '''Winner: '''Rena Edwards (one kill) by Laurels)]] '''Runner Up: Maria King (three kills) Third Place: Parker Quinn (one kill) Location: The abandoned town of Williamson, Kansas. Abandoned following flooding damage, possession of the bulk of the property in the town passed to the insurance companies that helped relocate its inhabitants. These companies were very willing to lend use of the largely-worthless property to SOTF-TV, as the only thing with any real value, the land itself, would be generally untouched and the presence of a season in Williamson held potential to increase the area's value dramatically, perhaps allowing the companies to recoup some of their losses from the original disaster. Notable Participants: *''Rena Edwards'' (winner, one kill) - The winner of Season Forty-Eight, Rena is known for spending the entire game in hiding, thus not speaking to or being seen by any of her fellow contestants. *''Maria King'' (second place, three kills) - The runner up of Season Forty-Eight. Originally written off as fodder, Maria's alliance and show romance with Lionel Wilson made her a popular candidate for the win. *''Parker Quinn'' (third place, one kill) - A popular football player, Parker was one of the more dashing students selected for the season. However, his time in the game was marred with heartbreak, grief, revenge, and despair. *''Lionel Wilson'' (fifth place, six kills) - Lionel Wilson was an unpopular geek who was routinely bullied by Jose Trueba's gang. However, after exacting revenge on Jose's gang, he formed an alliance with Maria King that blossomed into romance, which led to them becoming two of the most popular contestants in the season. *''Malina Forsythe'' (seventeenth place, five kills) - Malina Forsythe was an average rebellious student known for her bright red hair and multiple piercings. Malina spent her time setting fires and changing the environment. *''Jose Trueba'' (twenty-fifth place, no kills) - Jose Trueba was the most noted bully among those chosen for the season. While eliminated midway through the game, his gang was the largest alliance of the season and was responsible for many late game developments. Summary: For the forty-eighth season of SOTF TV, a class of fifty-four students from Orlando, Florida were taken to the abandoned town of Williamson, Kansas. Williamson was a small town that had been abandoned following severe flooding damage several years prior to the game. The town, which previously only held about 500 people, was a modern ghost town, with the main street containing a single grocery store, pharmacy, post office, and school. The arena also included two neighboring farms and a small trailer park. Early in the game, one student attempted to thin the numbers in a radical way. Malina Forsythe decided it would be easier to rush the game if she removed a large portion of the arena. The evening of the first day, Malina set fire to a corn field near one of the two farms, creating a massive wildfire with a torch she made using materials gathered from the grocery store. Malina's fire ended up claiming three students who were hiding in the corn field and the surrounding areas. In order to prevent the fire from spreading dangerously, the producers declared the field a danger zone at the next announcement and enlisted the aide of firefighters from a nearby town to contain the blaze. The next evening, Malina set fire to the school building, after sealing most of the entrances. Only two students were in the school, both of whom perished in the blaze. However, it was then that Malina's strategy hit a snag. The next three days saw a continuous storm over the arena. This halted Malina's arson, forcing her to lay low. This became an issue, as the game had been already been proceeding very slowly outside of Malina's fires, in large part due to the number of hiding places even a small town could provide and aided in part by the tendency of the students to seek shelter from inclement environmental conditions such as smoke from the first fire and the heavy rainfall that came with the storm. A girl named Joyce Connors gained some attention when she beat Liam Yates to death with a hockey stick, but cut any potential she might have had short when she killed herself the next day due to the guilt from her actions. After five days, a full thirty of the original fifty-four students remained. In the early morning of Day Six, one of Season Forty-Eight's more notable events took place. Lionel Wilson had discovered the hideout of Jose Trueba and his gang, five of his friends from school. Jose had been one of the class's more noted bullies, and Lionel was one of his favorite victims. The gang was hiding out in the woods, taking turns watching over the area and scavenging for supplies. While scouting the camp, Lionel noticed that the gang had taken Maria King hostage, forcing her to handle menial tasks for the group. Lionel, noting that for all their numbers the gang was woefully underequipped (with a metal baseball bat the most dangerous weapon between them), decided to kill the gang, and determined to free Maria, with whom he had no quarrel. Lionel, armed with his assigned AK-47, managed to lure Carly Ebbs away from the camp and kill her. When Jose, Eva Zuloaga, and Kurt Merrill left to find Carly, Lionel held up the rest of the camp. He killed Grant Rogers and Ross Amherst and freed Maria. While he suggested she flee, she remained in the area and watched Lionel ambush Jose, Eva, and Kurt upon their return, easily prevailing through superior firepower combined with the element of surprise. Maria decided to follow and ally with her savior, and Lionel accepted her company. On Day Nine, Malina emerged from hiding to set another fire, this time targeting the grocery store. After setting fire to the building, Malina encountered Parker Quinn and got into a fight with him. Parker's girlfriend, Wanda Tucci, was one of the students killed win Malina's first fire, and he'd spent much of the time since seeking revenge. Malina, who had relied on her small stature, quick feet, and extremely indirect tactics to avoid trouble, was outmatched by the stronger boy. Parker managed to overpower Malina, then killied her by shooting her in the head. By the tenth day, only fifteen students remained, including Lionel, Maria, and Parker. Much of the arena had been destroyed in Malina's fires, and still more had been cut off by aggressive deployment of Danger Zones as the producers sought to encourage a little more haste in the season, which seemed at serious risk of dragging. These factors drastically reduced the number of hiding places and cut off many supplies the students could use, a more major concern than typical as most students had exhausted the bulk of their supplied provisions. One student, Emory Lewis, passed away from dehydration after having all his water stolen by Rosanna Sanchez back on Day Five and having been unwilling to risk leaving shelter to seek more until it was too late. With the field thus narrowed, viewers began to pick their favorites of the remaining pool of students. One of the leading favorites was the pair of Lionel Wilson and Maria King. After the dramatic encounter with Jose's gang, Lionel and Maria attempted to spend the rest of the game lying low. Unfortunately, they ran into Lance Emmitt on Day Eight. Lance attempted to kill Lionel, fearing that Lionel was a deranged killer due to his widely-publicized killing spree. However, Lionel was saved when Maria grabbed a rock and bludgeoned Lance before he could shoot Lionel. After that, Lionel and Maria became closer, even becoming more romantic a day later. They became the most popular ship of the season and became two of the most popular choices for winner. Finally, on Day Thirteen, only five students remained: Lionel, Maria, Parker, Clarissa Blaylock, and Rena Edwards. These contestants were herded towards the remaining farmhouse for Endgame. Clarissa and Rena were low key contestants, and some of the least likely candidates to reach the finals. Clarissa had only killed once previously, when she accidentally discharged her gun and killed Isabella Hollis back on Day Six. Rena spent her time in the arena moving quietly and hiding in trees, and had managed to go the entire game without running into another contestant, in large part due to eschewing the comforts of the town in favor of the wilderness areas. Going into Endgame, Lionel and Maria agreed to be the final two and then spend as much time together as the producers would tolerate, perhaps trying to figure out some method of escape or, failing that, tandem suicide. This plan was unfortunately ruined when Clarissa saw the two approaching the barn she was hiding in. Clarissa fired her gun from the loft of the barn, managing to hit Lionel in the stomach. Maria ran to get out of the line of fire, leaving Lionel to bleed out and die outside. Maria then managed to storm the barn from a different angle, shooting Clarissa to death. Meanwhile, Parker was having issues of his own. Since killing Malina, he had been unable to get past Wanda's death; he felt no better for avenging her. Reaching Endgame, he found himself less than certain of his desire to survive. Maria found him sitting on the porch of the farm house. Perhaps suicidally, Parker raised his gun at Maria but did not fire, causing the girl to shoot him on instinct. Parker died with a smile on his face. Having killed Parker, Maria knew there was just one person left between her and freedom. Unfortunately, Maria didn't pay adequate attention to her surroundings. Rena had climbed a large tree outside the farmhouse as soon as she arrived at the endgame location, allowing her to watch as Clarissa killed Lionel and Maria killed Clarissa and Parker. Rena had been issued a sniper rifle, one she hadn't used the entire game. From her position in the tree, she could watch as Maria killed Parker on the porch. Seeing Maria frozen in place, Rena lined her scope up with Maria's head and fired. A single bullet pierced through Maria's head, killing her instantly. With that single shot, Rena Edwards was declared the winner of Season Forty-Eight and removed from the arena. Legacy: *Rated as: Average *The season was decently received as it occurred, though received notable criticism for its very slow pace. Its popularity was aided by the presence of a number of interesting or unconventional contestants, such as Malina, Jose, Parker, and the pair of Lionel and Maria. Each of these students had their own followings and developed their own fan bases, and in this respect the length of the season was to its advantage, allowing these students ample screen time to connect with the audience. However, Rena's killing of Maria was controversial for most viewers. To some, Rena was a master of flying under the radar, acknowledging that she lacked the skills and resources for direct confrontations and instead using her talents and equipment to avoid conflict and risk, thus allowing her to coast to a tactically strong victory. To the majority, however, she stole the crown from more deserving players and played a cowardly and largely uninteresting game, offering almost nothing for viewers to connect to. There are some fans who fall in the middle, as they tend to view Rena's strategy as legitimate and useful, but acknowledge that this also made her a very uninteresting winner. Defenders and detractors of Rena exist to this day. *A film version of Lionel and Maria's story has been in the works for the last few years. The film has hit several roadblocks along the way, including several script rewrites, recasting of the main parts, and the original director, Clint Jeremy, stepping down after disputes with the studio. The film has since been put on hiatus. *Since winning, Rena Edwards has attempted to make the most of her victory, with middling success. She makes occasional appearances at SOTF conventions and talk shows, but is not as sought after as previous winners due to the polarizing nature of her win and the fact that she had almost no presence with the viewers outside of her status as victor. Rena currently resides in New York City and is working on developing a line of purses and handbags with Macy's. Suggested by: Laurels Season Forty-Nine Dates: Spring 2017 Winner: Jonathan Ricardo (one kill) Runner Up: Adam Johanssen (three kills) Third Place: Daniel Conway (five kills) Location: The Houston Astrodome in Houston Texas. Once a proud site that played host to sporting events of all types, the Astrodome had fallen into disrepair and disuse after being closed and no longer used for sporting events. When the building was designated a historical landmark in early 2017, developers had a difficult time convincing the city of Houston to allow development on the site. While plans were seemingly in motion to revitalize the area, SOTF organizers stepped in and made a very lucrative offer to refurbish the site, provided that they be allowed to use it as the setting for the newest SOTF season. The influx of money into the city of Houston was an easy sell and the stadium was given a quick pass prior to the season, adding electric fences around the perimeter and restoring power and lighting to many of the areas in disrepair. Notable Participants: *''Jonathan Ricardo'' (winner, one kill) – With a reputation as the kindest player on the baseball team, Jonathan was not thought to be a contender in the pre-game rankings, but as he joined up with his fellow relief pitchers, his stock continued to rise. Viewed by many as an example of how to conduct oneself with respect and dignity, Jonathan advocated against killing as much as he could; he wanted, instead, to find a way to escape the situation. While a genial and usually non-violent person, Jonathan was an excellent tactician, managing to find ways for his group to get around barricades, and, in one circumstance, eliminate most of the cheerleaders for good. His friendship with Adam Johanssen was well-received by fans, as the two boys were open with their emotions, supporting each other through their difficulties, and he even comforted Adam through the boy's anguish upon the death of his brother. Jonathan's only kill came after he sustained a direct hit to the skull with a baseball bat, then feigned death before he rose and unsteadily gunned down a distracted Daniel Conway. *''Adam Johanssen'' (runner-up, three kills) – The founder of the alliance that dubbed themselves the "Bullpen," Adam gathered almost the entirety of the relief pitching staff together and convinced them that cooperating to survive was the right thing to do. As his friends were slowly whittled down and he had to watch his brother expire in his arms, Adam still tried to maintain a modicum of optimism, and relied heavily upon his friendship with Jonathan to keep him from crumbling. Adam was the first member of the Bullpen to draw blood, and managed to compartmentalize his guilt at the murder for the betterment of his group. *''Daniel Conway (third place, five kills) – A recent transfer student from a neighboring high school, Daniel Conway was tall, imposing, and took a very clinical path towards the end. A player from the very beginning of the game, Daniel felt it prudent to target certain students, who he spent a great deal of time stalking. He struck when appropriate and didn't mince words, leaving his appearances frightening to those around him. While a physical presence, Daniel often kept to the shadows, only emerging to attack or gather supplies. As a motivator of the game, there was a certain section of the populace that attempted to demonize him, but he was methodical and measured rather than outrageous. After a fierce battle, he was the one to take down Mary Dominguez, and he all but defeated Adam Johanssen before being gunned down by a thought-dead Jonathan Ricardo. The odds on sports gambling websites heavily favored Daniel throughout the season. *''Mary Dominguez (fourth place, eight kills) – Mary was the chief villain of the season, though her evolution into villainy was gradual. At the beginning, Mary and fellow cheerleader Juanita Hunt made a pact to band the cheer squad together and make it to the end. With a rallying cry that called for female empowerment, the squad topped the popularity rankings for the first half of the game. Public opinion turned on her when she cold-bloodedly executed a member of her own squad for requesting amnesty for her boyfriend, which lead to an uncomfortable scene in which she asserted verbal dominance over the remaining members of her team and challenged any of them to usurp her authority. Her arrogance ended up being her undoing as the group shattered, though she did manage to be the last cheerleader standing. *''Jessica Raymond'' (fifth place, four kills) – The quirky, sarcastic girl who once wore a mascot uniform became a force to be reckoned with. Not fitting in with either the baseball players or the cheerleaders, she usually traveled on her own, occasionally encountering and befriending any fellow misfits. Her eventual pairing with Chester Jacobsen was popular as well, with one scene in particular gaining millions of Youtube hits as Jessica found herself unable to understand Chester's Scottish brogue, both of them becoming more and more frustrated with one another until they suddenly collapsed into laughter. Jessica steered clear of the group warfare until the end of the game, when she eventually teamed up with the remnants of the Bullpen against the newly-minted sinister version of the cheerleaders. Her end was unceremonious, leaving many fans (and several top SOTF organizers) disappointed. *''Chester Jacobsen'' (sixth place, no kills) – As with every season of SOTF, sometimes plans go awry. The appearance of Chester Jacobsen was one such mistake. The producers intended to cast stats guru (and rumored sociopath) Jacob Chesterson, but an administrative error revolving around the fact that Jacob was not actually a member of the team led to Chester, himself a foreign exchange student with a complete lack of knowledge or love of baseball, being called instead. This made for some hilarious exchanges between Chester and certain members of the baseball team, none of whom recognized him. His Scottish brogue and incredulous attitude were the source of many of the quotable moments of the season, and he managed to stay largely out of trouble until the later stages of the game, eventually encountering and forming an uneasy alliance with fellow fish-out-of-water Jessica Raymond. *''Ty Alderson (tenth place, two kills) – The team captain and the only position player to have any impact upon this version of SOTF, the star first baseman tried to band his teammates together, much like the other groups assembling. Unfortunately for him, a string of bad luck followed him, as every alliance he got started either imploded or was massacred by the cheerleaders. Ty was notable as every single person that he talked to either agreed to ally with him and quickly died, or refused his help and attacked him. Ty managed to kill two of the latter—Robert Lewis and David Cullimore—but when he went up against Daniel Conway he struck out. *''The Cheerleaders (Mary Dominguez – fourth place, eight kills; Juanita Hunt – seventh place, two kills; Tam Culpepper – eighth place, two kills; Madelaine Lindquist – ninth place, no kills; Nichole Hawthorne – twelfth place, no kills; Emily Price – fourteenth place, no kills; Rachel Park – fifteenth place, one kill; Angelica Kim – sixteenth place, two kills; Donna Maxwell – seventeenth place, one kill) – Gifted with an unusually strong assortment of starting weapons, plus the fear that the men of the baseball team would gang up on them, the Cheerleaders banded together early after the murder of Terry Hamilton. Under the leadership of Mary Dominguez and squad captain Juanita Hunt, the cheerleaders were early favorites as they took a proactive approach to hunting down their competition. Their popularity would take a bit of a dip when they encountered the Bullpen, and while they did slay two of their members, the growing divide within the group became clear, with some of the girls started to feel uncomfortable with their murderous intentions being directed against a group that was obviously just trying to survive. The pursuit of the Bullpen would prove devastating, as the Cheerleaders first loss was a massive one, when Kyle Valenza sacrificed himself to eliminate half of the squad in one fell swoop. Mary's popularity plummeted, and she took up the mantle of chief season villain after she cold-bloodedly executed one of her fellow cheerleaders and the girl's injured boyfriend, wrenching control of the group away from Juanita and running it as a dictatorship. The other Cheerleaders fear of their leader proved to be their undoing, as they fell into a trap shortly before Endgame, leaving Mary the sole member to make the final four, where she was quickly eliminated. The group's actions motivated nearly the entire season, and many of the most memorable action pieces were their doing. Mary has proved to be a memorable villain, and the group was immortalized in a limited edition series of Todd MacFarlane action figures a few months after the season concluded. *''Kyle Valenza (eighteenth place, four kills) – A member of the "Bullpen," Kyle was easygoing, more of a follower and not one to make waves. With his group running extremely low on ammunition and cornered in one of the maintenance tunnels by the entirety of the cheerleading squad, Kyle sacrificed himself in order to give his group the out that they needed in order to escape. Having drawn explosive charges as his weapon, Kyle sent his group running further into the tunnels while he blew up the passageway, killing four of the cheerleaders and meeting a heroic demise. *''The Bullpen (Jonathan Ricardo – winner, one kill; Adam Johanssen – runner-up, three kills; Michael Smith – eleventh place, no kills; Paul Johanssen – thirteenth place, no kills; Kyle Valenza – eighteenth place, four kills; Stephen Maxwell – twenty-third place, no kills; Scotty Delozier – twenty-fourth place, no kills) – While not topping the popularity polls until the last quarter of the game, the Bullpen was well-liked throughout due to the constant banter within the group and the good nature of each member. The seven boys who comprised the group were obviously good friends outside of the season, and it was a rare example of an SOTF alliance that never had threatened to implode. The primary goal of each boy was to escape the game, but they never really worked towards this end, as the majority of the second day found the Bullpen on the run from the cheerleaders. When remembered after the season, many people believe that the Bullpen only had five members, forgetting about Scotty and Stephen, who were eliminated in the very first attack by the cheerleaders and failed to have the notable impact that the remaining five did. Kyle's surprising and noble sacrifice is heralded online as his greatest highlight and is thought to be the moment that ensured Mary's defeat in the game, though also leading directly to the deaths of Michael and Paul. The focus upon the friendship between Jonathan and Adam ended up improving ratings for this group, and while the Bullpen all but dissolved in Kyle's explosion, the two boys approached Endgame as heavy fan favorites, only behind Jessica Raymond. *''Kristoph Gingerich (thirty-ninth place, one kill) – The second casualty of the season, Kristoph ended up having a massive impact upon the rest of the game. Upon stumbling into a conversation between three members of the cheerleading squad, he became hysterical about the cheerleaders picking off the baseball players, and eventually his suspicions led to him gunning down Terry Hamilton. Believing that this was liable to keep happening, Juanita Hunt and Mary Dominguez decided to rally the other cheerleaders to take down the baseball players. Thus, the largest force of the game came into being. '''Summary:' An even forty students from Twisted Oak Public School in Hartford, Connecticut were taken for the forty-ninth season of SOTF, and transported to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Each student selected was a part of the school's middle-of-the-pack baseball team or their cheerleading squad, save one (Chester Jacobsen) who was accidentally selected by way of a name mix-up and had no relationship to anyone on the team. The game lasted a brisk three days, with the indoor setting leading to more naturally occurring confrontation between contestants. Each day featured approximately the same number of kills, though many of them happened in clusters. The season began with a bang, as reserve infielder Kristoph Gingerich stumbled upon three of the cheerleading squad conversing and comparing notes. Immediately assuming that they were working together, he threatened them and hysterically accused the cheerleaders of forming an alliance to take out the baseball players. In the grips of this paranoia, he gunned down Terry Hamilton and was immediately dispatched by one of her friends, Mary Dominguez. While mourning the sudden death of her friend, Mary began to fear that Kristoph's attitude might prevail among other players, and decided to take the boy's suggestion to heart, leading her and Juanita Hunt to attempt to band the cheerleaders together to eliminate the male contenders. Elsewhere, another group of friends had established themselves. Primarily seeking protection for him and his younger brother, Adam Johanssen brought together a group made up of seven of the team's relief pitchers, all of whom were friends outside of the game. This group hoped to eventually escape together. Fans began to refer to this group as the "Bullpen," and their positive attitude, constant banter and sense of humor kept them very popular among the viewership. A third group that seemed to have the potential to make a large impact upon the game was formed by baseball team captains Ty Alderson and Kenneth Morrison and consisted mostly of starting position players. Unfortunately for them, their group of seven were quickly cornered by the cheerleaders, who were able to lull them into a false sense of security before launching a surprise attack. Sans Ty, who was off doing a supply run, every single member of the group perished, including Kenneth. Ty's exaggerated "what the fuck" reaction to returning to find his group laying dead within one of the locker rooms drew much attention, and is a clip that has been repeatedly used as a reaction gif online. The team's mascot, Jessica Raymond, immediately became a popular contestant from her first appearance. The producers had timed her casting such that she was taken while wearing her mascot uniform (a very large spotted duck), but she immediately eschewed it and played the game wearing only a sports bra and a pair of tights. While favored for the potential "sex appeal" that she thus offered, she also possessed a caustic attitude with a penchant for sarcasm, and was unabashedly herself during the entirety of the game. Preferring to navigate the game alone, Jessica mostly managed to avoid the large groups that she watched gather from afar. A particularly ugly early-game moment came when two competitors who were on the baseball team's disabled list with minor injuries cornered her in the batting cage area and attempted to rape her. Using her agility and the acrobatic skills that she'd honed as a mascot, Jessica turned the tables on both boys and bludgeoned them to death using a baseball pitching machine that she set on high-speeds. While shaken, she managed a quip that sent her popularity ratings into the stratosphere, and earned her a large degree of internal popularity from the SOTF organizers and crew. The final kill of the first day saw transfer student Daniel Conway make his presence felt as he emerged from his hiding place on the catwalks of the upper portion of the dome to push left fielder Kyle Rhiel to a messy demise. Kyle's body would lie next to second base for the remainder of the game, and would actually become relevant come Endgame. Shortly before the announcements, fish-out-of-water Chester Jacobsen met up with Jessica and formed an uneasy alliance with her, borne out of necessity and the fact that neither knew who the other was. While this alliance would not see a lot of action throughout the game, their interplay and back-and-forth gave the season more comic relief than anyone anticipated, punctuated often by Chester's frustration and hatred of everything to do with baseball. A hint of Mary Dominguez's eventual undoing occurred at the beginning of the second day, where she encountered her own boyfriend, Alex Shannon, hiding in a supply closet. While initially welcoming him to her group of cheerleaders, she allowed him to drop his guard and then cut his throat, proclaiming that he was cheating on her and that he deserved it. This proved to be the first fracture in the cheerleader alliance, as many of the group were horrified by Mary's actions. In particular, Nichole Hawthorne and Emily Price seriously contemplated leaving the group, neither girl all that interested in killing and both starting to have second thoughts about who they were allied with. Both ended up quashing their doubts and staying, which would prove costly for them. While the majority of the game took place on the interior of the stadium, there was an area outside of the park to use as well, and the small group comprised of the team statistician, Larissa Palmer, her boyfriend and starting pitcher, Benjamin Maguire, and a fellow starter named Wayne Crimson tried to stay out of the way in this zone, hoping to avoid drama and bloodshed. Unfortunately for this group, they were undone by an unrequited love that Wayne held for Larissa, which culminated in Wayne attacking Benjamin and throwing him into the electrified barrier, killing him. Unable to prevent the death of her boyfriend, Larissa listened to Wayne's confession of love, embraced him, and proceeded to shove him into the electric barrier as well, cursing his name in an uncharacteristically crude manner, a rant which online fans would dub "Larissa's Electrifying Conclusion." The second day also brought about the first major confrontation between the cheerleaders and the Bullpen, which many fans were looking forward to but which ended up disappointing a little. Shots were exchanged from afar, but the Bullpen retreated before the cheerleaders could use their sheer numbers to overwhelm the boys. The only casualties of the encounter were Bullpen members Scotty Delozier and Stephen Maxwell, who didn't treat the situation with proper seriousness, getting caught up in making sarcastic remarks as opposed to shooting, leading to them being surrounded and gunned down by Mary Dominguez and Juanita Hunt. Elsewhere, a very temporary alliance was struck between a shaken Ty Alderson and the backup catcher, David Cullimore, but David and Ty were often at odds and they argued frequently while they traveled together. This culminated in a moment in which Tyler got so aggravated with Dave that he pointed his weapon at the boy. He accidentally discharged it, killing Dave in a moment fans found a humorous parallel to John Travolta's accidental killing of "Marvin" in the movie Pulp Fiction. Ty's horrified and over-the-top reaction proved a gif-worthy moment online, and continued his string of bad luck with groups and partners. The Bullpen were forced to shed some blood of their own when, later in the day, they came across reserve outfielder Francis Vandenbroek, who had serious bad blood with Paul Johanssen after an incident in practice several months before the game. Francis attacked Paul with very little warning, and after a brief struggle, Paul's older brother Adam stepped in and snapped Francis' neck, saving his younger brother. The elder Johanssen shrugged off the kill, acknowledging that he would do anything to help family—a category in which he included his teammates—but he would later privately admit to Jonathan Ricardo that killing Francis had almost destroyed him. This solidified the bonds of the five remaining Bullpen members, who vowed to try to escape. Unfortunately, they would not have time to sit down and figure out a real plan for this, as the remainder of the second day would see them constantly on the run from the Cheerleaders. The second afternoon was very quiet, and the only event of note to occur was the near-miss when Larissa Palmer almost joined up with Jessica and Chester. After cautiously sussing the pair out, the quiet statistician was on her way across the hall to where the other two were holed up, when Daniel Conway (who had been stalking her for the better part of the day) slipped out of the shadows and brutally murdered her right in front of Chester and Jessica. Frozen in terror, they could only watch as he committed the crime and then slipped away, keeping out of sight as much as possible the whole time. The late evening of the second day was quiet, until the cheerleaders cornered the remaining members of the Bullpen in the maintenance tunnels beneath the Astrodome. Unsure of how to get away and running critically low on ammunition, Bullpen member Kyle Valenza took his designated explosive charges and sacrificed himself, staying behind to set off the detonation while hoping to block the tunnels and eliminate as many of the cheerleaders as he could. While the explosion did take out four of the cheerleaders, it also managed to separate closer Michael Smith from Adam, Paul and Jonathan. Moreover, in the chaos immediately prior to the explosion, Donna Maxwell mortally wounded the retreating Paul Johanssen, seconds before her own demise in the explosion. Paul managed to last long enough to make it to safety and have one last emotional conversation with his brother before perishing. The third day began with Mary's descent into madness, as the remnants of the cheerleaders came upon an injured Michael Smith, much to the joy of his girlfriend, Nichole Hawthorne. When Mary prepared to kill Michael anyways, Nichole made an impassioned plea to spare him, appealing to Mary's sense of friendship and virtue, and acknowledging that Michael had always treated her with a great degree of respect. To the shock of the group, Mary coldly executed Nichole, then informed Michael that she didn't believe a word of what the girl had said, before killing him too. The other cheerleaders were appalled by the shocking murders, which led Mary to verbally and uncomfortably dress down each remaining member of her group, challenging them all to usurp her power, and taking firm control in an unhinged manner. While the group remained together, this would spell the beginning of the end for the cheerleaders, as the other three girls were terrified of this newly-revealed side of Mary. With all of the group drama that was occurring, a confrontation between Ty Alderson and Daniel Conway was almost overlooked, as the two had been forging mostly solo paths through the game. Ty tried to establish a group for the third time, but Daniel would have none of it, beating him to death so brutally and in a manner captured so well by the cameras that a small contingent of fans advanced the theory that the producers had modified with special effects; a close analysis soon revealed that they had not. The nine students remaining were not a final nine for very long, as the odd-couple pairing of Chester and Jessica met up with the two remaining Bullpen members and forged an alliance that vowed to take down the four remaining Cheerleaders once and for all. After Jonathan came up with a spectacularly laid-out plan that involved using the hapless Chester as bait, the cheerleaders were lured out into the main concourse of the stadium, where two of them fell victim to a Molotov cocktail attack from Adam Johanssen. The third—Juanita Hunt, the co-founder of the group—battled with Jessica Raymond around the bleacher area, but eventually lost when Jessica beat her to death with a baseball bat. With the final six already grouped, Endgame was declared and all contestants were ordered to the field level, which had been all but untouched sans the dead body of Kyle Rhiel. Chester and Jessica were the first two to arrive, emerging from the bleachers, but quickly found themselves under attack from a hidden Mary Dominguez. Chester went down quickly to a gunshot; Jessica faired better at first and seemed ready to take the upper hand until Mary landed a lucky strike that knocked her down a flight of stairs into a dugout. Jessica's head hit a corner bench, killing her instantly. Having split off from the other two, Adam and Jonathan entered the field (rather aptly) from the Bullpen at the far end of the field, trying to prepare themselves for the final confrontation between them and Mary. As they approached the dugout, they were shocked to realize that in the time it had taken them to make their way across the field, Daniel Conway had snuck in and killed the cheerleader, making his way out of the dugout and towards them with her head stuck atop a sharpened peg. This moment was highly cinematic and horrifying for many viewers, who were not expecting such an ignominious end for such a central figure of the season. Daniel quickly attacked the stunned Adam and Jonathan, disabling Jonathan almost immediately with a blow to the temple from a baseball bat. This lead to a showdown for the ages between Adam and Daniel. Since neither boy had any kind of gun, Mary's having run out of ammunition during her killing of Chester, the fight progressed included a mix of punching and kicking, a duel with baseball bats, and even some dirt thrown into Daniel's face by Adam. The larger Daniel held the advantage for much of the fight, at one point landing fourteen swings of his bat to Adam's torso, causing Adam to cough up blood and barely allowing him to rise to his feet. The penultimate moment came when Daniel backed up into a body, and turned around blind with rage, choosing to batter it repeatedly with his bat, believing it to be Jonathan. In fact, the body was that of Kyle Rhiel, who Daniel himself had killed earlier, and this allowed Jonathan to shakily rise to his feet and execute Daniel with a single shot to the back of his head with a pistol that he had been assigned but had not fired until this point. After the death of Daniel, Jonathan went to check on his friend. Adam was battered and broken, and Jonathan guided his friend over to the backstop, where they had an emotionally charged conversation about all of the good times they'd had together. Adam thanked Jonathan for being such a great friend to him, and passed away as the two looked up into the stands, imagining a crowd that wasn't there. This left Jonathan Ricardo as the sole survivor of Season Forty-Nine. Legacy: *Rated as: Very Good *While the general viewing public did not have high hopes for a baseball-themed season, and a level of concern existed about the disparate number of male and female contestants, these fears were quickly seen to be unfounded as the cheerleaders banded together to battle the remainder of the baseball team and were largely successful in their endeavor, creating an intense season characterized by factional battles. The setting was lauded as a publicity gimmick that actually worked, and indeed the Astrodome served as an iconic arena and leant to some very interesting and creative kills, a number of which even matched the baseball theme, particularly Jessica Raymond's killing of Jesse Mandylor and Matthew Riese by way of a pitching machine. Endgame was also particularly spectacular, as the final six were instructed to the field level and bathed in a prearranged set of spotlights, adding to the drama. *Mary Dominguez was an early favorite whose reception soured as the game went on, particularly once she cold-bloodedly executed a member of her own team after the girl pleaded for the life of her boyfriend. The crowd favorite for the entire game was Jessica Raymond, as the mascot was caustic, sarcastic, and the source of many memorable one-liners, as well as a few very creative kills that got her out of some unusual situations. *On the flip-side, the friendship between the eventual winner and runner-up got a lot of attention, with many fans online "shipping" the two as the season went on. While there was no obvious romantic attraction between the boys, the wholesome and encouraging nature of their friendship made them a very popular duo. With the cheerleaders as a killing force that eliminated almost half of the game pitted against the likable boys of the Bullpen, the season had a clear narrative arc and was seen as a success. *As far as winners go, Jonathan Ricardo was well-received. While scoring his only kill of the game at the very end when he managed to defeat the enigmatic Daniel Conway in defense of his friend, Jonathan's kind-hearted attitude and genial nature made him an easily likable winner. It did, however, make his transition back to society that much more difficult, as he struggled with the gravity of his one and only kill. Neither a polished public speaker nor someone who sought out the spotlight, Jonathan largely retreated from the public eye, though he will sometimes emerge to do the odd podcast or interview segment regarding SOTF. He is quite good at keeping an even-keel about his experiences, always pushing the narrative towards remembering the friends that he lost rather than dwelling on the more bombastic elements of the season. With the help of some wealthy backers, he has established a charity foundation that awards humanitarian scholarships in the names of his fellow Bullpen members who did not survive the season. He currently works as an IT-consultant for a large financial institution, as well as sitting on the board of the charitable foundation that he established. Very little is known about Jonathan's private life or his family and he is thought to live alone, though he is occasionally seen on his own in the stands of professional baseball games. Suggested by: Cactus Season Fifty Dates: ''' 2017 '''Winner: '''Unknown '''Runner Up: Third Place: Location: Notable Participants: * Summary: Legacy: * Suggested by: Season Fifty-One Dates: ''' Fall 2017 '''Winner: '''Cedric Hoffman (two kills) '''Runner Up: Jeffrey Anderson (one kill) Third Place: Nicola Rothman (no kills) Location: The seaside gated community of Claiborne Point in Claiborne, Massachusetts, which the executives were able to negotiate rights to during the tourism off-season. Notable Participants: *''Cedric Hoffman'' (winner, two kills): Cedric Hoffman was a feminine and androgynous student known for being one of the more artistically driven students from Wakefield High School. Alongside his boyfriend, Marcus Chaudhury, Cedric had one of the most stable alliances in the early game. His tragic and difficult struggles made him one of the most sympathetic and popular candidates for the win. *''Jeffrey Anderson'' (second place, one kill): A short and shy boy, Jeffrey, like Cedric, was known for having a difficult time in the game due to being picked up by Ilana Hutcherson’s group and subsequently used as a tool. He eventually separated from them and became an unlikely heroic figure. *''Nicola Rothman'' (third place, no kills): Nicola was a quiet loner who spent most of the game hiding. Her actions led to Ilana Hutcherson’s transformation into one of the biggest villains of the season. *''Ilana Hutcherson'' (fourth place, seven kills): The season's biggest villain, Ilana started the game as a popular girl who used her influence and looks to gather a large alliance on her side. After half her group was wiped out, Ilana took to desperate measures for revenge, and eventually struck out to survive on her own. *''Frank Copeley'' (twenty-fifth place, one kill): An unpopular boy around school, Frank was known as a loudmouthed and bigoted bully. Frank’s actions during the first night of the game were some of the darkest and most unpleasant of the season, but also resulted in one of its most notable deaths. by Laurels)]] *''Marcus Chaudhury'' (twenty-sixth place, no kills): A boy of Indian descent, Marcus was kind and artistic. He did face some discrimination for his ethnicity and for dating Cedric, but his dedication to his boyfriend, combined with his good looks, made him popular with the viewers. It was his death that really spurred Cedric’s arc. Summary: For Season Fifty-One, thirty-one students from the small town of Wakefield, Georgia were sent to the gated community of Claiborne Point in Claiborne, Massachusetts. Claiborne Point was a restricted community usually populated by the vacationing New England elite, featuring several stately homes and cottages, along with a country club and golf course and a marina and harbor. As the area was fenced on all sides not connecting to the ocean, the gate served as a border for Danger Zones. Boats in the harbor were stripped of their fuel and motors so no one could sail away, although Danger Zone borders were also delineated in the ocean with buoys. As the season took place in early Fall (during months in which Claiborne Point was usually largely unpopulated anyways), the area wasn’t too cold, and the autumn colors provided a gorgeous backdrop for the game’s events. The game started off fairly typically, with a few students forming groups and alliances, and others starting to play. The couple of Cedric Hoffman and Marcus Chaudhury met early on, and agreed to protect one another for the duration of the game. Ilana Hutcherson, a popular girl, found her friends, Sasha Brian and Elyse Walker, and created an alliance with them. They also picked up Jeffrey Anderson, a quiet boy, and added him to the group, though not as an equal member. Jeffrey had a crush on Ilana, and Ilana used his obvious feelings for her to get him to do things for the group, treating him almost like a servant. By the evening of the first day, the playing field was reduced to twenty-six students. Notable events included the murder of Roger Dalton by Curtis Li, who beat the boy to death with a golf club at the clubhouse before riding off in a golf cart which he subsequently crashed into a sand dune. This was one of the more darkly comedic moments of the game and gained some memetic popularity during the season. As dusk fell, having spent the day scavenging for supplies and a hideout, Cedric and Marcus were close to taking shelter in a boathouse when Marcus was surprised by Frank Copeley. Frank was a notable bigot at school, and had more than once bullied Cedric and Marcus for being a gay, interracial couple. Frank clubbed Marcus over the head with his assigned bat, killing Marcus instantly. It was then he moved onto Cedric, who was cowering in fear, stunned by watching Marcus die. Instead of killing Cedric, Frank captured the boy, using rope he found to tie him up and suspend him in the boathouse. Frank proceeded to humiliate and abuse Cedric on camera, tearing his clothes and cutting chunks of his long hair off. Frank also painted Cedric's body with Marcus’ blood to further mock him. However, in what proved to be his undoing, Frank had failed to properly tie the rope holding Cedric’s arms up. As Cedric struggled while Frank was smearing him with blood, the rope came undone, causing Cedric to fall to the ground. Frank was momentarily caught off guard by this, leaving Cedric free to attack. Cedric tackled his tormentor, and then used his newfound leverage to beat the boy's face repeatedly. Cedric managed to knock Frank out, but upon closer inspection discovered he was still alive. Cedric proceeded to bind Frank with the ropes, properly this time, then tied them to an anchor he laid on some oxygen tanks. Once Frank awoke, Cedric gave him what was later known as "The Cedric Speech," a monologue in which Cedric dressed down Frank and other bigots like him for their intolerance and lack of humanity, then explained what he was about to do as revenge. He then rolled the anchor over the tanks, dropping it into the water. Frank was dragged down with the anchor and drowned a few minutes later, unable to break free from the bonds. Cedric then took all of Frank's and Marcus’ items, gave some parting words to Marcus’ body, and left the boathouse. The Cedric and Frank confrontation was one of the few events that happened in the evening of the first day, as most other students had slept through the night, with the comparatively abundant shelter offering little incentive for confrontation. This combined with the extreme nature of the scene to make it one of the most viewed and studied moments of the season. The game progressed regularly throughout much of the next day. Ilana Hutcherson’s group soon discovered the hiding place of Nicola Rothman, a girl who was a frequent target of their bullying. The group wanted Jeffrey to kill Nicola to prove his devotion to the group and to Ilana. Sasha and Elyse held Nicola in place, and demanded Jeffrey stab her to death. Jeffrey struggled to do so, but did manage to scratch Nicola with his assigned bowie knife. However, he ultimately found himself unable to go through with the murder. Ilana grabbed the knife from him and was prepared to stab Nicola herself when Nicola retaliated. Nicola elbowed Sasha in the face, breaking Sasha's grip. This allowed her to grab Sasha’s gun from her pocket and fire at the group, wounding Elyse and Jeffrey. Nicola fled with the gun. Ilana was furious at Jeffrey, but her attention was quickly drawn by Elyse's poor condition. Elyse had been gut shot, and was starting to bleed out. Believing the girl was unlikely to last for long, Ilana slashed Elyse’s throat with the bowie knife, killing her quickly. Jeffrey ran, fearing Ilana would turn the knife on him next. Sasha was left in shock, but Ilana convinced her it was to mercy kill Elyse, and that they’d find and kill Nicola for revenge and Jeffrey for giving Nicola the opportunity to shoot their friend. As the day wore on, the game passed in less dramatic fashion. Cedric found new clothes and cut his hair to make it look decent following Frank’s assault. Jeffrey continued to worry and panic, especially after seeing Ilana’s true nature. Ilana and Sasha continued their hunt for Nicola, who laid low, trying to avoid conflict following the incident. One of the quirks of the season was a relatively low population of major or notable killers through its first half; many of the would-be motivators, like Frank, met their fates soon after commencing their violent ways, some falling to their prospective victims, others catching each other or being put down by students out for revenge. Midway through Day Two, Cedric ran into Diamond Henderson. Diamond had survived an encounter with minor player Ryan Lockley, but was now paranoid that everyone else was also going to attack her. Cedric tried to calm her down, but Diamond attacked him. Cedric couldn’t escape, and, seeing no other choice, used Frank’s bat to clobber Diamond to death. Sickened by what he'd done, Cedric remained in hiding for the rest of the day, locking himself in the attic of a house and spending his time drawing on a sketchpad he found. He punctuated this with periodic comments to the camera, detailing his thoughts on the game, his classmates, and whatever other topics crossed his mind. By Day Three, only fifteen students remained. Ilana had gone slightly mad in her seemingly fruitless search for Nicola and Jeffrey, and had killed Yevgeny Mikhailov when he was unable to provide any information about her targets' whereabouts. Sasha had become slightly worried by Ilana’s mental state, as Ilana continued to mutter about how she would kill them all. Worried she’d be a target sooner than later, Sasha decided to try to kill Ilana preemptively. Armed with a police baton, Sasha prepared to club Ilana over the head while the girl wasn’t looking. However, Sasha was interrupted by Curtis Li. Curtis, having recovered from his golf cart crash, had spent the interim laying low and scavenging and had acquired a gun from the corpse of Lucy DeMarco. Curtis knew Ilana was a killer, but Elyse's death had been spun as a mercy kill on the announcements and Yevgeny’s death had yet to be announced. Seeing Sasha about to ambush Ilana, Curtis opened fire, hitting Sasha in the back and head and killing her. Ilana, realizing that Sasha was about to turn on her, was momentarily stunned. Curtis came over to check on Ilana, who played it off, thanking Curtis for killing the traitorous Sasha. Curtis was proud, and especially excited at the offer of a kiss from Ilana. As he closed his eyes in anticipation, Ilana took the opportunity to stab him and steal his gun. She left Curtis to bleed out and moved on in her quest to kill Jeffrey and Nicola. By the evening of the third day, only six students remained. The producers called for Endgame to occur in a cul-de-sac near the harbor. The Endgame participants included Cedric, Jeffrey, Nicola, Ilana, and two other students, Richard Montez and LaToya Pearson. Richard had two kills to his name, having accidentally shot Lucy DeMarco on Day One and killed Lucy’s boyfriend, Andre Forrest, when he came for revenge. LaToya had no kills to her name and had spent most of the game in hiding. Upon arriving at the Endgame arena, Ilana spotted LaToya and opened fire, killing the girl. This drew Richard’s attention, and the two engaged in a gunfight that led into one of the homes in the cul-de-sac. Meanwhile, Cedric had run into Jeffrey shortly before Endgame. Cedric didn’t want to hurt Jeffrey, but Jeffrey was initially quite skeptical of this claim. However, Cedric was eventually able to convince Jeffrey that he wasn’t playing, and they allied. The two entered the cul-de-sac together and quickly ran into Nicola, but she was still unsure about Jeffrey's trustworthiness, and the sounds of gunfire sent her running. The gunfight ended when Ilana managed to kill Richard. Although slightly injured, she was still set to continue playing, and searched through the area, looking for the others. Cedric and Jeffrey kept a close eye on Ilana from hiding, and soon Ilana discovered Nicola. Nicola tried to run, but Ilana shot and injured her. Before Ilana could do anything else, Cedric charged from cover and hit her in the back with his bat. This turned Ilana's attention to Cedric, and she pursued as he fled. Cedric lured Ilana back towards where he'd been hiding, across an open expanse. Jeffrey had found Richard’s gun and fire back at Ilana. Ilana, already injured by Richard and weakened by the bat to the spine, was finally felled by shot to the chest. However, as the boys checked on each other, she managed to pull herself back upright just enough to fire a shot at Cedric. Jeffrey, seeing the motion behind Cedric's back, pushed him out of the way, but in doing so took the bullet. The recoil dropped Ilana back to the ground, and she did not rise again, soon bleeding out from her injuries. Jeffrey insisted that he was not severely hurt, and asked about Nicola. He and Cedric returned to the house where the girl had been and found Nicola in her last moments. The two comforted her as best they could, and soon Nicola passed away. With no further contestants remaining, Jeffrey asked if he and Cedric could just sit and rest. They made their way to the deck of the house, gazing over the sea at sunset. Cedric and Jeffrey had a peaceful talk, during which Jeffrey revealed his injury was actually worse than he'd claimed, stating that he was sure he was going to die. He spent his last few moments talking to Cedric about what he’d do now that he was going to win. Cedric wasn’t sure, especially since he wasn’t sure what he could go back to. Jeffrey, who had spent most of his life afraid, told Cedric to really live his life and to make something great. Jeffrey finally passed away from his injuries, and Cedric was declared the winner of the game. Legacy: *Rated as: Good *Season Fifty-One was a well-received season as it occurred. Claiborne Point was well-regarded as a location and received a lot of interest, turning a season that had historically been slow into one of its busiest in future years. Several of the season's students made major impressions, from Curtis Li’s propensity for disaster to Frank Copeley’s chilling sadism. Ilana Hutcherson met with mixed reception as a villain, mostly due to her switch in methodology from manipulative to murderous and due to the back-loaded nature of her kills leaving her the only real source of Endgame conflict. Jeffrey Anderson was also the recipient of unexpected popularity due to his actions in the later part of the game. Other highlights included Curtis’ golf cart crash, Cedric’s speech and killing of Frank, and Ilana’s surprise killing of Curtis. However, Frank's torture of Cedric received extreme criticism following post-game revelations and has become one of the most contentious aspects of the season. *Cedric Hoffman has been quite enigmatic as a winner. He gave one terse interview immediately upon winning, then refused all appearances and interviews. His parents often spoke on his behalf, explaining that Cedric needed time away from the spotlight following the game. Cedric’s absence also produced rumors that something might have happened to him, with some hypothesizing that a suicide was being covered up. A year and a half after the season's conclusion, however, Cedric returned to the spotlight. A month after winning, Cedric had quietly left the country and spent the next few months traveling the world using the money from season royalties. These travels included stops in over a dozen countries, including Japan, China, Austria, Egypt, Iceland, and more. During this time, he continued to create art, painting and taking photographs during his travels, and sending them home to his parents with instructions for the management of his affairs and publicity. Once he returned, Cedric presented the items in a show at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, revealing a series of art inspired by his time in the game, the people he knew, and his travels around the world. The series was fairly controversial for being very anti-Survival of the Fittest, with Cedric making numerous attacks on the show through his art. It was also in this time that Cedric came out as transgender, beginning to transition soon afterwards. Now legally Clara Hoffman, she has since moved to New York City, where she continues to make a living as a full-time artist, an LGBT+ advocate, and a spokesperson against Survival of the Fittest. She has also recently revealed her engagement to fellow New York artist Jayden Sawyer. Suggested by: Laurels Season Fifty-Two Dates: ''' 2017 '''Winner: Dylan Calloway (four kills) Runner Up: Third Place: Location: Notable Participants: * Summary: Legacy: * Suggested by: Category:SOTF-TV Lore Category:SOTF-TV